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Balmain, New South Wales
Balmain is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located slightly west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt. Balmain is located on the Balmain peninsula surrounded by Port Jackson, adjacent to the suburbs of Rozelle to the south-west, Birchgrove to the north-west, and Balmain East to the east. Iron Cove sits on the western side of the peninsula, with White Bay on the south-east side and Mort Bay on the north-east side. Balmain has become established in Australian working-class culture due to being the place where Australian Labor Party formed in 1891 and its social history is of high cultural significance to New South Wales. History Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by Gadigal and Wangal people. Stories from early settlers in the area tell of how the local indigenous people used to hunt kangaroo by driving them through the bushy peninsula, down the hill to Peacock Point at the East end, where they were killed. The area now known as Balmain was part of a 550 acre (2.2 km²) grant to colonial surgeon Dr William Balmain (1762–1803) made in 1800 by Governor John Hunter. A year later, Balmain transferred his entire holding to settle a debt to John Bothwick Gilchrist before returning to Scotland. The legality of the land transfer from Balmain to Gilchrist for only 5 shillings was challenged by Balmain's descendents and further development of the area was blocked. The area subsequently became known as Gilchrist’s place, though court documents refer to the area as the Balmain Estate. During the many years of legal challenges, the land was leased for farming and cattle purposes. In 1814 the adjacent homestead of Birchgrove was sold to Roland Warpole Loane, a merchant and settler descended from a family of English landlords. One hundred acres on the adjoining Balmain estate were leased to Loane.The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, ISBN 0-207-14495-8, p.14 In 1833, Gilchrist transferred power of attorney to Frederick Parbury. When Loane's lease finally expired in 1836 and the land retrieved from his possession, Parbury commissioned surveyor John Armstrong to sub-divide the land into six parcels. Three parcels were sold to Thomas Hyndes in 1837. The area was rapidly sub-divided and developed during the 1840s and by 1861 had been divided into the well populated eastern suburb of Balmain and the sparsely populated western area, extending to the gates of Callan Park, known as Balmain West. The peninsula changed rapidly during the 1800s and became one of the premier industrial centres of Sydney. Industries clustered around Mort Bay included shipbuilding, a metal foundry, engineering, boilermaking and the Mort's Dock and Engineering Company works which opened in 1855. Increasing industrialisation at Balmain created a demand for cheap housing. This was satisfied by the dock owners selling small blocks of land to entrepreneurs who then built tiny cottages and rented them to the workers. at Darling Street Wharf in 1951]] Lever Brothers Factory opened in 1895. A coal mine was opened in 1897 beside what is now Birchgrove Public School by English shareholders . From the bottom of the shaft a decline led down to a block of coal situated under the harbour between Ballast Point and Goat Island.Lawrence, J; Warne, C; A Pictorial History of Balmain to Glebe, Kingsclear Books, 1995, ISBN 0-908272-40-5. Balmain Power Station was erected in stages from 1909 and the Balmain Reservoir was built in 1915. The opening of the railway in the 1920s further established and Balmain gained a reputation as a rough working-class area of Sydney. The coal mine closed in 1931. A large influx of immigrants boosted Balmain's population in the 1950s. Gentrification of Balmain began in the 1960s as industry waned. Balmain's desirability to the middle class was due in part to its waterfront location and proximity to Sydney's CBD. The Balmain Association was formed in 1965.http://australianetwork.com/nexus/stories/s1805487.htm Increasing property values and waterfront development continued to push the suburb's remaining industry out. In 1996, the Lever Brothers site became a series of apartment complexes with a handful of original buildings preserved. The power station was demolished in 1998 to make way for apartments. However many aspects of Balmain's industrial past have been retained as heritage. Demographics According to the 2011 Census of Population, there were 9,783 residents in Balmain. 63.5% of residents were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were England 9.6%, New Zealand 3.6% and Ireland 1.6%. 82.9% of residents spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 1.2%, Greek 1.0% and German 0.8%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were No Religion 34.6% Catholic 24.0% and Anglican 16.5%. Commercial area Darling Street, Balmain's main thoroughfare, features boutique shops, quality restaurants and cafes alongside old drinking establishments. Landmarks on this street include the Post Office and Court House, alongside Balmain Town Hall, the historic Westpac Bank, Balmain Fire Station and Balmain Working Men's Institute. Other commercial developments are scattered throughout the suburb. The headquarters of the NSW Water Police moved to Cameron Cove in Balmain in late 2007. Heritage As an old suburb, Balmain has many heritage buildings. The following buildings are listed on the Register of the National Estate:The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, pp.2/35-2/37 * Exchange Hotel, Beattie Street (circa 1885) * Presbyterian Church, Campbell Street (1867–78) * Presbyterian Church Hall, Campbell Street (late 19th century) * Two-storey house, 9 Campbell Street (late 19th century) * Presbyterian Manse, Campbell Street (late 1890s) * St Andrew's Congregational Church and Hall, Darling Street (1855)Eric Letts & Keith Lyons, "A Goodly Heritage", A History: 1853 – 1992, The Independent Press * Fire Station Darling Street (1894) * Post Office, Court House and Police Station, Darling Street (1886) * Watch House, Darling Street (1854) * St Augustine's Catholic Church, Eaton Street (old church 1848–51, extensions 1860, new church 1906) * Public School, Eaton Street (1876, extensions 1892) * Public School, Nicholson Street (1877) * Balmain Volunteer, Queens Place (1850) * Terraces, 5–9 Queens Place (circa 1850) * Thames Street Ferry Wharf and Shelter, Thames Street (circa 1895) Parks and reserves Balmain has a number of parks including Gladstone Park, Birrung Park and White Bay Park. The wider peninsula has many more parks in close proximity, particularly along the foreshores. Transport Balmain has several ferry wharves that are serviced by the Inner Harbour ferry services. These wharves are located at Thames Street, Elliot Street and in Darling Street, Balmain East. Services run to Circular Quay. Sydney Ferries maintenance and repair base is at Balmain Shipyard. Balmain's road network feeds into three main roads – Darling Street, Beattie Street, and Montague/Mullen Street. These streets have limited speeds, typically 40kph and are all single carriageway with parallel parking. Due to the geography of the peninsula, all of these roads feed into Victoria Street and the Western Distributor. Trams once ran all the way down Darling Street to the Wharf at Balmain East. Due to the very steep incline at the bottom of the street, the trams used a complex 'dummy' counterweight system constructed under the road surface. The trams were pushed up the steep hill by the dummy, and rode the dummy on the way down to safely descend the hill. Sydney Buses have now replaced these tram services. The Bus services that service Balmain are: 441 – Birchgrove to NSW Art Gallery via Rozelle, 442 – Balmain to QVB via Rozelle, 444/445 – Balmain to Campsie, 433 – Balmain to Millers Point. Housing The post-industrial gentrification of Balmain has resulted in a suburb of considerable charm and interest where the modest, pretty houses command prices that would not have been dreamt of by their original tenants. However, Balmain still retains a diverse mix of residents due to the Housing Commission unit blocks in the suburb.Solling, M; Reynolds, P; Leichhardt: On the margins of the city, Allen & Unwin, 1997, ISBN 1-86448-408-X. Culture |thumb]] Drinking establishments Balmain is home to many historic hotels, including the Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Cricketer's Arms Hotel (now The Monkey Bar), Dick's Hotel, Dry Dock Hotel, Exchange Hotel, Forth & Clyde Hotel, Kent Hotel, London Hotel, Mort Bay Hotel, Norfolk Pines Hotel, Pacific Hotel, Royal Oak Hotel, Shipwright's Arms Hotel, Star Hotel, Town Hall Hotel, Volunteer Hotel and the West End Hotel. The Riverview hotel is a heritage listed corner building built in 1880 in the Arts and Crafts style.NSW Heritage Office; Riverview Hotel, Inventory Item. Retrieved October 2006. http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_01_2.cfm?itemid=1940053 Between 1888 and 1913 the pub was named Bergin's Hotel after the publican Joseph Bergin. Australian swimming champion Dawn Fraser was publican of the Riverview from 1978 to 1983.Davidson, B; Hamey, K; Nicholls, D; Called To The Bar – 150 Years of pubs in Balmain & Rozelle, The Balmain Association, 1991, ISBN 0-9599502-6-5. Pop culture Numerous phrases have been used to describe the suburb and its inhabitants, including "Balmain boys don't cry" (former NSW Premier Neville Wran at the Street Royal Commission); "You can take the boy out of Balmain, but you can't take Balmain out of the boy" (Unknown); "There are only two types of men in this world: those who were born in Balmain and those who wish they were" (a Police Commissioner of New South Wales). Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating commented on the suburb's gentrification by using the term "Basket weavers of Balmain". In the mid-1960s Balmain was the setting for the popular Seven Network situation comedy series My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?, starring Gordon Chater, John Meillon and Judi Farr. Balmain was the setting for the Australian film The Sum of Us, which starred Jack Thompson, John Polson and Russell Crowe. The Pacific Hotel was used as the set for the Australian television soap opera E Street. Sport and recreation Balmain is home to the West Tigers rugby league club. The club was formed in mid-1999 by a merger between Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies in preparation for the 2000 season. In 2005 the Tigers defeated the North Queensland Cowboys in the Grand Final to win the premiership. The Balmain Rugby Union Football Club, founded in 1873, took part in the very first competition structure and in fact winning their first premiership in 1875. Players lost fighting in World War 1 forced the club to merge with the Glebe "Dirty Reds" RUFC in 1919, to form the Glebe-Balmain RFC. As a merged club they had enormous success during the Twenties, winning four premierships. In 1931, as a depression project, Drummoyne Oval as we now know it was constructed on the site of a small oval which Glebe and Balmain had used for junior matches since 1892. To ensure longevity of tenure, because there were just not enough sporting grounds in Sydney, but with some reluctance, the Glebe-Balmain Club decided to change its name to the Drummoyne Rugby Football Club. It did so without giving up its long held traditions, the scarlet jumpers of Glebe and its world famous tag, "The Dirty Reds" and the black and gold of Balmain, colours still worn proudly by today's players in their socks. Drummoyne Rugby Club is still in existence and still upholds it proud history and traditions. The suburb is also home to the Balmain Australian Football Club, a founding member in 1903 of the Sydney Football League. Balmain is also home to Balmain SC, who are a semi-professional football club, playing in the NSW Super League, the league below the NSW Premier League. Balmain Sailing Club is located in nearby Birchgrove and is home to the annual Balmain Regatta. Notable residents ]] Notable past and present residents include: * Geraldine Brooks, author and journalist * Rose Byrne, actress * Carlotta, entertainer * Dawn Fraser, former champion swimmer * Paul Henry, multinational broadcaster *Sir John Kerr, former Governor-General of Australia * Alex Lloyd, singer/songwriter * Lottie Lyell, actress * Padraic McGuinness, journalist * Matthew Mitcham, diver * Frank Moorhouse, author and screenwriter * George Negus, journalist and author * Nick Origlass, former Trotskyite mayor of Balmain * Henry Parkes, former Premier of New South Wales * Wayne Pearce, former rugby league player * Josh Pyke, musician *Norman Selfe, engineer. * Tom Uren, former Whitlam Government Minister * Neville Wran, former Premier of New South Wales Notes # Postcode 2041 covers the suburbs of Balmain, Balmain East and Birchgrove. # Combined population for all residents of postcode 2041. # Median house price for all properties of postcode 2041. References External links * Local Images at InnerWest ImageBank * Local History Collection, Leichhardt Council * Balmain Association. Category:Suburbs of Sydney